Finding Edelweiss
by forensic-chick
Summary: This is the final chapter in the saga of Zodiac and Sara... please read and review!
1. Default Chapter

Finding Edelweiss

This is my story. The horse names are mine so don't take them! Same goes for my story. I don't own CSI. Hallie, this is for you. Even if you are unworthy of Nick. Oh yeah, and same goes for you Lauren. 

It was late afternoon when the call came in for a forensics team to come to the race track. Sara and Nick responded, heading out to Rival Stone Park, named for a horse that probably only won a few stakes, and whose owners, being rich and overjoyed, had built a huge course in its honor. When the call first came in, Sara had felt something like a fork jab into her stomach. She had smiled through gritted teeth. Horse racing. Something she had left long ago, and something that had haunted her thoughts ever since. No, she would not think of it now. She needed to grow up. She had been 14 when it had ended and she didn't want to go back now…

They headed to the first barn, after flashing their IDs at a smiling guard. Fine, long, thoroughbred faces poked out of stalls only covered by webbing. One blew softly through its lips at her, and she stroked its face quickly as she walked past, feeling the texture she had missed for so long, silky lips and soft, short hair.

The case could have been closed without their assistance, but Nick and Sara stayed anyway. One jockey, angered at a "foul" that had been dismissed and cost him the race had beaten the offending jockey to death with his whip and a hoof rasp. His only mistake was doing it in front of two grooms who had cowered in the stalls of their horses, and then realizing what he'd done and trying to run covered in blood spatter.

"Hey, wanna watch a couple races?" Brass offered. Nick nodded.

"Come on Sara, they're almost over, must be only a few left," he said. Sara tried to refuse but then caved. She could just watch without breaking down couldn't she? How wrong she was.

The first race was a three year old claiming, a bunch of unknown, no-chance horses with great bloodlines and nothing but papers to prove it. But as with every race there is a winner, even if it's the only one they ever do win.

"What were the odds on that one Brass?" Nick asked.

"I dunno, something high though, we could've come into a lot of money Nick," he replied. As he talked odds Sara listened to the sounds she had often fallen asleep to when she was younger, the slosh of water in buckets, the whickering of horses, the clatter of hooves, the snorting of contented animals and the rattle of grain on plastic. She breathed in the scents, leather, saddle soap, sweat, hay, and horse all mingling together. She awoke from her remembrance to listen to the names of the horses parading to post below her, and one caught her eye. It was a jet black, deep dark, not like the fool's blacks, one that looks black but is really dark brown, but black, dark as the night. The horse was tall and thin, with fine conformation and a pretty face, a small stripe of white traveling down it, and her mane bobbing with every smooth movement, eerily familiar, and suddenly Sara was plunged into a memory of long ago, and of times forgotten….

Sun soaked the earth and the hills and the birds sang, and a small girl with curly brown hair and laughing dark eyes skipped into the cool dark of the barn, to the very end stall where her father was, helping lift a newborn foal to its mother's side. The baby was beautiful, showing off her great bloodlines, thin and spindly like all babies, and dark black, real black. She stretched to nurse, pulling back her head and revealing whiskers dripping white with milk. The little girl laughed, covering her mouth with a chubby hand and her father had lifted her up, high up swinging her in a circle at such a fine horse, and looking up at her smiling.

"Sara, honey, Daddy's got himself a winner!" and she had giggled at how silly her father looked, with sweat and dirt on his face and his hair everywhere. "How do you know Daddy?" she had asked, and he had placed her in the stall with the baby, waiting and watching as daughter and horse cautiously reached out to touch, and then the baby had come closer to the girl and leaned into her, as Sara hugged her, and her father spoke softly in a whisper.

"She's got fire in 'er eyes Sara, and that means she'll be great," he said. Sara had draped her short arms around the base of the filly's neck, scratching behind her ears and everyone could tell they were fine together, both like children, the girl thinking she was a horse and the horse thinking she was a girl.

They played in the fields all summer, the long legged foal cantering after her friend and rolling in the sweet smelling grass, the mother horse not far behind, whickering softly. Sara's mother smiled, watching her daughter play with the horse, and such a fine horse! She was sure to be fast and when she galloped circles around the old gelded Thoroughbred, Tibo, who still had some good bucks left in him, Sara would laugh, and her horse would come trotting back. Such a good horse needed a name. Her father wanted something bold, and looking at her bloodlines, her mother being a Secretariat mare and her father an expensive stallion with Man o' War and Discovery, had thought of Secret War. Laura, Sara's mother had thought it sounded stupid, and suggested something softer and more elegant, (though her husband insisted horse racing was anything but soft and elegant) had come up with Edelweiss, and so it was. Edelweiss and Sara were always together, and because Sara couldn't pronounce Edelweiss, she was affectionately called Edel. (Adle)

And when it came time for training Sara was always there, now a girl of seven, perched like a bird on the walls of the starting gate, whispering to her horse that she shouldn't be afraid, or sitting on the rail, screaming for Edel until she almost fell off, and then it was back to the fields for a good roll and grazing (for Edel anyway.)

But one night, as Sara lay sleeping in the stall with Edel, curled up next to her gently rising and falling stomach, her parents got in a fight. At 2:00 in the morning, Laura Sidle grabbed her suitcase and packed most of her daughter's things in it, then marched into the stable, and without turning on the light, yanked her daughter out of the warm comfort of her stall and shoved her into the car. Sara was torn out of her environment, like a fish out of water, away from her center of life, Edel, away from her father and her room with the pink walls and polka dotted wall paper, with her blue bed and picture books, and away from her second room, the stable with its sweet smelling hay and shavings and away from her warm and big, beautiful horse.

For four years Sara lived out of the horse world. She didn't know about the record breaking times Edel had made, the wins she had, or the losses. She didn't know about the retirement with a leg injury in her fourth season, or her worth as a broodmare. She didn't know that the little foal that had followed her around like a dog and that she had spent her day with was now being sought after by racings biggest stallions. Her mother disallowed watching horse racing on TV, reading magazines about it or anything else.

"Gambling is addictive," she would dictate, and Sara would protest, because she didn't want to watch it for the gambling. She didn't have a clue what "trifecta" and "pick six" meant. Sara, being Sara, had rebelled, stretching the limit, sneaking in magazines, but by then Edel was out of racing, and thus out of the news. For five long years Sara could barely stand her mothers presence, (especially after Laura found a year's purchase of the Blood Horse and assorted Daily Racing Forms) until her mother caved and let her work at a stable.

Without Sara, Edelweiss felt lost and alone. She called into the long hours of the night for her friend, and was only distracted when practicing or racing. After months she quit calling, and though it is hard to have known her thoughts, Mr. Sidle doubted she didn't think of his daughter at least everyday. Her coat lost its luster; she didn't eat a lot, but enough, and was forced to replace her lost Sara with a small pony named Bingo, who at least kept her eating. After many long months, she accepted her friend's disappearance, and quit calling, though she never was quite the same.

Life was easier after Sara started working at Corner Key Acres. She even found a new favorite, a gray four year old named Table Theatrix. Trixy was a swift little sprinter, nothing like Edel, but fast and smart. Sara doted on her and groomed her until she shined, and made sure she was always bandaged up properly, walked out, and anything that could be prevented was. Sara had worked there for two years when she learned not everything could be prevented.

It was a day she would never forget, late summer, the sky gray and fitting for what would happen. Coming around the far turn Trixy was leading, head up and ears swiveling interestedly. She was being pressured on the outside by a dark bay, the favorite, named Castle Parade. Castle Parade had barreled up on the outside, and Trixy, knowing it was time to get down to business flattened out and ran, Sara screaming for her to go faster. It had rained earlier, the track slick in places, and Trixy had lost her footing in the stretch, tripping and falling, tossing the jockey over her head. She was hurt bad, and euthanized. Sara was crushed, and the natural high of sure victory plummeted and she had screamed, at everyone listening, at the jockey, her mother, Trixy, Castle Parade and his jockey, who hadn't slowed and kept running. That had been her final day in racing. A fourteen year old with no idea for her future had left, hoping she would find something else.

As all these things flashed through her mind, Nick looked at Sara, whose hands were gripping the rail so tightly they were turning white. She was crying, all because of a stupid, nothing horse which had just happened to be black. Brass had left for some fries and a soda, and Nick just sat, watching Sara. She listened quietly to the announcer's voice, crackling the names with a phony drawl.

"Numbah one, Corridor ridden by Nathan Cole, numbah two is Shallow Tide ridden by Tony Saco, numbah three…" he droned on Sara waiting for the black's name. Finally it came. "Numbah seven, a long shot by the name ah Edelweiss Calling, and that's yer field folks, as they load into the gates…." Sara gasped. No. It couldn't be… no way. She had heard wrong. She was wishing something into existence… Nick continued to gaze at her strangely. "Uh, Sara? Are you okay?" Oh god, was she crying in front of him? Sara sniffled and looked at him, trying to nod, knowing he could see through it. He didn't know what to do but she wasn't paying attention, she was watching as the gates sprung open, catching the filly by surprise and she paused as the others sprung out ahead of her and then she leaped and landed with them, dark legs stretching out and grabbing turf and throwing it back, and the announcer shouting something stupid Sara couldn't make out but she was screaming with hundreds of other voices now, not because she had bet on it but because she was finding something lost so long ago, something still painful. Nick was staring at her like she was a maniac, and Brass was returning with their soda and fries, almost spilling them on himself. He asked Nick what she was doing but he had no clue, and when the black filly raced across the wire five lengths in front Sara was out of her seat and down the stands toward the stable, shoving people out of the way as she went, tears running down her face.


	2. Nick, Brass, and a Thoroughbred

Nick, Brass, and a Thoroughbred

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. I do own the horse names, story, and characters that are not from the show. More dedications this time: Hallie, Lauren, Richie, and Nicole. Thank you.

The crowd drifted aimlessly down the stands of Rival Stone Park, talking betting and pedigrees. The sun's weak rays floated down, far past the scorch of noon. Grooms walked their charges out, offering water here, walking a bit and offering more water. One woman was not drifting aimlessly. She pushed against the crowd, almost leaping off the stands and knocking someone over. She muttered a quick apology and kept going.

The woman was Sara Sidle, and she was in a hurry. Nick Stokes and Captain Jim Brass followed her as best they could, but Nick, being a southern gentlemen, couldn't just shove through a crowd! Sara grabbed the groom that was walking out the slightly winded black mare. The sandy haired young man jumped, reminding her of Greg.

"Yeah?" demanded the groom, probably angry she had jumped him. Sara suddenly realized she must look like a wreck. She furiously wiped her eyes to rid them of their tears and thought for a moment.

"This horse," she said, motioning to the mare. "Where did she come from?" Sara asked. She reached out to touch the satiny black. A memory flashed back of her as a child, horse and girl reaching out to touch, surrounded by the stillness of morning. And here, she a young woman, reaching out to touch the daughter of that horse in the bustle of the afternoon.

The groom thought for a moment, and Nick and Brass finally caught up to her. Brass mopped his brow and panted. Sara had always wondered how he stayed so cool in those suits.

"Save the running for the horses Sara," he said breathlessly. Nick petted the black horse on the shoulder. Living in Texas had given him a good eye for horses, but not Thoroughbreds. He was used to the stocky, muscular, quick cutting horses, which were useful on the range. To him, Thoroughbreds were just fancy bred horses who could beat any of his dad's fastest quarter horses, if the race was more than a quarter mile. The groom spoke.

"Some farm in San Francisco. It was pretty small but I think it was called-" Sara cut him off.

"City View Farm?" The groom shook his head.

"Are you psychic or somethin'? This is Edelweiss Calling. We call her Calli. Her mom was Edelweiss, that great little racer." Sara related the summary of her story. But there was something she needed to know.

"Is she for sale?" The groom squinted, then pointed behind them. Two young women sat on the white benches of the stadium, conversing over a Daily Racing Form. One was medium height, with long red hair that was pulled back in a braid. The other was tall and thin, with short brown hair.

"Those are the owners. Hey Kori and Hallie! Over here!" The two women gathered up their magazine and headed over.

"What's up Aaron?" The red headed one asked. Aaron related Sara's story, and her question. The brunette nodded sympathetically.

"I'm sorry Ms. Sidle, but we can't sell her. She just won her first race," Hallie (the brunette) said. Sara nodded. She knew the horse racing game. You didn't sell winners. Sara scratched behind Calli's cheek, where the neck joins to the head. The black mare snorted contently and craned her head, leaning into Sara's touch. Nick smiled. Brass left to go home. There was no problem here.

"Does she have any siblings that might be for sale?" Sara asked as the horse gently blew through its lips at her. Hallie and Kori looked at each other, uncertain. Kori finally spoke.

"She has one brother. They were twins. As far as I know, Edelweiss didn't have anymore babies, it was too hard on her. Her brother is for sale, I know that. The thing is… I hear the horse is insane. He attacks his grooms, trainers, jockeys, people that walk by. He's mean." Hallie's hazel eyes were steeled with anger. Her voice was quiet and harsh.

"There's only one way a horse becomes the way he is," she said. Nick nodded solemnly, understanding totally. He to spoke softly.

"His owners make him that way." Sara's eyes had steeled also, with a hard determination mixed with anger.

"I don't care. I'm buying him Nick. I'm buying him and I'm going to see Edel."


	3. Meeting Zodiac

Meeting Zodiac

Disclaimer: CSI: Not mine. Characters: Still not mine. Story: Mine. Horse names: You bet your buttons they're mine. Dedication: You know who you are. And catlover2x.

Sara held the ad in her hand. It was a light green piece of paper with a color picture of a huge black stallion. The horse was dark with sweat, and his eyes were rolling. Foam flecked his shoulders and Sara guessed he had been lunged to near collapse so he'd look calm in the picture. She was in forensics, and her trained eyes didn't miss the fact the horse looked ready to blast in any direction. The typing proclaimed in large print:

FOR SALE: BLACK THOROUGHBRED STALLION

ZODIAC

GREAT BLOODLINES

NEEDS WORK

Hallie had laughed at the "Needs work" part.

"Huh, that's not all it needs," she said. Kori had rolled her eyes.

"Needs work my foot. More like "Needs regular shots of valium," she said. Nick laughed. By this time of course, Hallie and Kori had noticed how handsome Nick was, and had immediately gone into action. They weren't overbearing, but they pretended to compete for him, all in fun.

Sara had found the ad on a bulletin board tacked up to one of the main barns. She dialed the number quickly on her cell phone.

The office phone chirped once at Willow Tree Acres. A thin woman with pale blue eyes and braided blond hair picked it up, twirling a pen in her long fingers. She wore expensive breeches and a green sleeveless collared shirt.

"Willow Tree Acres, Clarissa Bennett speaking," she said in a cold tone. Sara hesitated.

"Um, yes, I was calling about the horse you have for sale, Zodiac?" she asked cheerfully. Clarissa perked up slightly.

"Yes?" Sara thought for a moment.

"I was interested in buying him and I was wondering if it was all right if I came over some time tomorrow morning." She asked, crossing her fingers. Kori and Hallie chatted with Nick while Sara made the appointment. They settled on eleven o'clock.

Clarissa Bennett put down the phone and strode to across her spacious office to the door. She poked her head out the barn aisle and yelled out,

"Someone's coming to see Zodiac! Lunge him, shove some Calm n' Cool in him, do something!" she called.

The navy blue Tahoe crunched gravel as it pulled into the driveway the next day. Sara was accompanied by Kori and Hallie, Nick was home, probably asleep. Willow Tree Acres had two large barns and one small one. The small one had three stalls, a hay storage room, and a tack room. It held the stallion, Zodiac. The other two barns held all the mares in foal and horses in training. All the barns were painted a crisp white with green trim, with the floors swept to perfection, and every stall bearing a bronze name plate. An attractive sparkling blue pond was next to the large main house, and the pastures were all extremely well kept. Sara was amazed. Kori pretended not to care and Hallie did the same.

Clarissa wore another pair of expensive breeches and the same style shirt, but this one blue.

"Good morning," she said in a brisk tone. She tapped her leather crop against her boots. "You're here to see Zodiac?" Sara nodded, and Clarissa led the way to a stall at the very end of the barn. It was dimly lit, and located where the least amount of people could walk by and fall victim to the stallions lethal teeth, though that was prevented by the bars that covered his stall. Sara tried to look inside with out getting to close.

The horse was huge, with wild eyes and a knotted mane and tail. His coat was rough and dirty, and he looked as though he hadn't been outside in a while.

"Can you bring him out," Kori asked, in just as friendly a tone as Clarissa's. Sara could tell it was an immediate disliking between the two, and she didn't blame Kori. Clarissa was about as friendly as the horse.

The blond entered the stall, riding whip at the ready. Zodiac swung around, hate sparking in his eyes. He snapped at her and she hooked a lead rope to his halter, and he leapt out of the stall. He stood for a few moments surveying his territory, then lifted himself onto his hind legs. His black forelegs struck the sky and he screamed his fury, lashing his head back and forth. Clarissa brought her whip crashing down on his shoulder and he screamed again, coming down hard. She smacked the back of his forelegs just as he landed and they buckled, and he fell, fear flickering across his face for just a moment, quickly replaced by hate. Sara shouted and Hallie snatched the whip from Clarissa's hands.

"Do that one more time and I swear to god you'll regret it," she said angrily. Sara grabbed the horse's halter to help him up and he stood by himself, his knees scraped. He bolted back into his stall and it was all Sara could do to unclip the lead. Zodiac kicked at her on his way past and Sara shook her head. Clarissa flicked the whip away from Hallie and Kori bolted the door shut.

"So how much do you want for him?" Sara asked. Clarissa snorted.

"I'd take less than fifty from the meat truck," she sneered. Sara handed her a hundred dollar bill. Clarissa took it and handed Sara the lead rope.

"He's all yours."


	4. A Trainer for Zodiac

A Trainer for Zodiac

Disclaimer: CSI is still not mine and probably never will be. Richie, Nicole, and catlover, this is for you.

Sara stared at the phone. She could do it. She had the number right in her hand. Just pick it up and dial the numbers. _Come on Sidle_, she said to herself. _He's your dad, he'll help you._ She fought with herself. What would she say? "Hi I'm the daughter you haven't seen in twenty years? By the way I need you to come out here with Edelweiss's old trainer and help me." ? _Yes. He'll understand. Just tell him your problem._ Sara picked up the phone and dialed it.

The phone rang four times before he answered. The voice was gruff but gentle, just like she remembered it.

"Hello?" it said. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Dad?" she asked. There was a silence.

"Sara?"

"Yes!" she cried and they both laughed.

"It's been so long Sara! How have you been, where do you live?"

"I've been great dad, I, uh, live in Vegas now." She could almost feel her father smiling over the line. "I need some help dad," she said.

"Go ahead."

"I just bought Edel's son dad, and I don't have a trainer. You should come out and see him." Her father laughed.

"Oh Sara! Edel and I have missed you so much. She's right here now Sara, out in her pasture, right in the place where you used to sleep with her. She never was the same after you left Sara. Every time she ran she ran for you, I know it." He laughed, just like she remembered, the way he laughed when the birds sang and the sun shone and the summer wrapped around them, the way he did when everything was right. In her cold apartment she felt lonely, and she still remembered how it felt when she and her mother had first left.

"Does Richie still work for you dad?" she asked, her eyes watering.

"He still lives in the cottage down by the barn. He's been training at a little farm down the road aways, but he'll train for you. So you have Zodiac?" Sara smiled.

"Yep. He's crazy though. His owners beat him," she said sadly.

"Richie can handle him though. He's good with horses." Sara smiled, and a tear spilled over, down her face.

"Come out soon dad, I'm keeping him at Run Along Farm." Her father spoke softly.

"Sara?"

"Yeah dad?"

"I love you."

"I love you to."


	5. Edel's Lost Daughter

Edel's Lost Daughter

The sun made everything shimmer and dance over the desert, and Sara cranked the air conditioning in the Denali. The pavement wiggled and hazed as she sat waiting for the plane. All the arrangements had been made. Her father would work at Run Along Farm, which was owned by Hallie and Kori. He would stay in a small house in Henderson, and Richie Flora, his trainer, would work with him. Richie on the other hand would live in an small cottage like house next to the barn in Run Along Farm. And Edelweiss was coming.

A plane dove from the sky, the sun glinting off its silver exterior. It landed on the pavement that seemed to wobble in the sun. It stopped slowly, and people started to pour out of the small doors. Suddenly, she saw him. Tall and thin, with wiry arms and dark skin, and the same dark eyes, the same slightly curly hair, but he looked tired, and not from the flight. A sad and lonely tired.

Behind him came Richie. Richard Flora was medium height, with dark skin and even darker hair. He had almost black eyes, and was very quiet. He wore his raggedy Red Sox hat so that you could barely see his eyes. Just like she remembered. Memories flooded over Sara, and she stood there, staring at both of them, two people who had meant the world to her and she had been forced to leave.

Jacob Sidle ran to his daughter and caught her up in his arms, almost lifting her off the ground like he used to when she was a small girl.

"Wanna come see your friend Sar?" he asked, calling her by the name he had used when she was little. Sara nodded, and started crying all over again.

They headed to the back of the plane, Richie following quietly. A make shift stall stood in the corner, and in it stood a black mare. Sara stepped forward quietly and the mare swung her head around to see who was coming. She snorted, than stamped her hoof, smelling Sara. Sara stuck out a tentative hand and Edelweiss brought her head forward to meet it. With a toss of her head she nickered loudly and bumped Sara with her shoulder. Edelweiss had found her lost daughter.

They took Edelweiss off the plane in a blur, and if you had asked her Sara wouldn't have remembered it. She walked Edel around the parking lot to stretch her legs, than loaded her on the trailer. They arrived at Run Along Farm tired but content. Sara took off all of Edel's leg wraps, then her blanket, halter and head bumper, and watched happily as the old black horse settled into the deep straw of her warm stall. She took a sip of water, then stretched out and slept.

When everyone left for the night, Sara snuck into the stall with Edel and rested her head on her horse's slowly rising and falling stomach. She swiftly fell asleep to the sound and feeling of which she hadn't felt in years. Sara was home.


	6. Zodiac AttackHello Hospital

Zodiac Attack/ Hello Hospital

Disclaimer: CSI's not mine yadee yadee yada… thank you catlover for cheering me on. No one else reads this so thanks for making me finish it anyway. To Hallie and Lauren, I have to say… NI! And BAD WORD!

Sara walked into the small barn of Willow Tree Acres. Zodiac stood at the back of his stall, daring anyone foolish enough to try and deal with him. Sara sighed and looked at Hallie and Nick, who stood next to her.

"He wasn't as bad as I thought he would be when I first met him," Sara said. Hallie looked at her, disbelieving.

"You mean you didn't see his grain bucket?" she asked blankly. Sara shook her head.

"No, why?"

"There was white powdery stuff in it. The horse was drugged." Nick looked disbelieving.

"You should be in forensics!" he said. Hallie flashed a smile.

"Thanks." _Kori would be sooo jealous,_ she thought smugly.

Sara opened the stall carefully, keeping her eye on the horse the whole time. They had backed the trailer up to the barn door. Zodiac could either run around the barn aisle which he could barely turn around in or keep on going onto the trailer. Sara clipped the rope to his halter and tried to lead him out. Nick stood behind her for assistance and Hallie did the same.

Zodiac burst out of the stall and clattered down the aisle. He planted his feet at the ramp and backed up. Sara tugged on the rope and he slashed his head sideways, flicking the rope out of her hands. Hallie grabbed a grain bucket and rattled it. Zodiac followed the sound. Hallie stepped into the trailer and he began to follow when Clarissa walked up. He snorted and reared, attempting to turn around. Clarissa slid the door open farther to squeeze in between the trailer. Zodiac saw daylight and bolted.

Nick tried to grab the lead rope, but missed when Zodiac jumped to the side. Clarissa stepped smartly out of the way to avoid injury. Hallie leapt in front of the charging stallion, trying to shut the door. He barreled towards her, turning at the last moment, but still hitting her. She hit the wall hard and gasped as Zodiac took a flying leap and landed in the trailer. Sara shut it and rushed to Hallie's side. Nick was already there.

Nick prodded her arm and she yelped. She cradled it to her side and bit her lip. It hurt, and her lower chest was throbbing so hard she thought she might throw up. Nick looked at her worriedly and patted her hand as he dialed 911.

Hallie had a brief thought of how wimpy she looked in front of Nick before she blacked out.


	7. Let the Rain Fall

Let the Rain Fall

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI, but George Eads has the same birthday as me… dances Despite the name of this chapter, it is not based on the Hilary Duff song. Hilary Duff is annoying. For Hallie. I'm sorry. For Richie. I want a copy of that picture!

The ambulance sped into the driveway, spewing gravel. Horses that were turned out spooked and took off across their pastures. The sirens blared and Sara was mildly annoyed that Nick didn't ask for a no-siren approach. Hallie had regained consciousness, and was holding her arm. There was no doubt it was broken, and she might have cracked ribs.

Within minutes she was loaded into the ambulance. Nick hopped in to accompany her, and Sara trailered Zodiac back to Run Along Farm. Clarissa had wisely disappeared inside her large white house. It wasn't that she didn't care about Hallie. She just couldn't let an insane horse stand inside a metal box for that long. Besides, she had something very important to do.

Sara backed the trailer up to the large arena. She had often driver trailers for Corner Key Acres, even though she was only fourteen. She tore open the doors and Zodiac backed out, wild eyed. He had already ripped his halter off but he wasn't hurt. Clouds gathered above them and Sara grabbed the lead rope. She shut the trailer, then latched the gate. The clouds burst, and rain pummeled down.

Everything was mud. Zodiac stood at the other end, glaring at her warily. Sara wiped her hair out of her eyes and swung the rope in a fast circle. Zodiac bolted, just like she wanted. She had seen Richie do this a thousand times to dangerous horses.

She swung the rope and he continued around the ring, as far from her as possible. Mud splattered and fog sprang up. It had been a hot humid day and the rain made a thick mist. Zodiac looked like a black ghost. He floated through the fog like some kind of apparition, his coat dark with water and sweat. His eyes rolled and he bucked, stopping to rear. Sara kept swinging the rope. Striking out with wicked forelegs, Zodiac trumpeted his dominance.

Sara wiped water out of her eyes, tossing her head to get her soaking hair out of her face. Zodiac kept running. Minutes seemed to last forever as her horse galloped around her and she felt his pain. The suffering of being beaten, the energy to go and run, run forever and ever and never stop, to do what he was bred, because he was horse, so completely horse that he would always fight, no matter what, but maybe Sara could ask him to accept her, to see she was different, that she wouldn't hurt him.

She watched him. The rain pelted down and her shirt was soaking wet, her jeans running mud. An ear strayed towards her. He flicked it back immediately, and with renewed hope, she kept swinging her rope. He kept running. His ear locked on her again, and stayed tuned to her. He began to toss his head, and to the untrained eye it would appear he was rebelling even more, but she knew what he was doing. He began to open and close his mouth, biting and eating air. He was submitting.

He ran two more laps before he stopped. His breathing was heavy and his sides worked like bellows. He stood to face her. It was up to Sara now. If she messed up, and scared him, she would never be able to reach him. She turned around so her back was facing him.

Through the patter of rain she heard the squelch of mud. Out of the fog Zodiac approached her. He stopped, uncertain. Why was this human any different? But he could feel something from her, an understanding. It pushed him forward. He stretched out and touched his nose to her shoulder.

Water streaked down Sara's cheeks. It wasn't from the rain.


	8. When Zodiac Met Lauren

When Zodiac Met Lauren

**Disclaimer**: CSI will never be mine. My medical knowledge isn't that good so don't yell at me because Hallie stayed the night in a hospital with only a broken arm and a cracked rib. I had some loose ends to tie up in this chapter so there's only like, one paragraph about Lauren. Sorry.

Sara dashed into her house and threw on a pair of clean jeans and a blue shirt. She tried to dry her hair as best she could. It was all curly from the moisture and she tried to brush it straight but gave up. Her father had always told her that she had beautiful curly hair and she shouldn't change it, but she brushed it straight anyway. She slipped into her sneakers and leapt into her car.

The lobby of Desert Palm Medical Hospital was wide and spacious, with the smell of disinfectant hitting her in a wave like the air conditioning. The receptionist was a petite woman with her black hair pulled back in a bun. She pointed Sara to the elevator, saying Hallie was in room 174 on the second floor.

The room was painted a light blue, with pink curtains. A bunch of flowers were on the window sill, probably from Kori. Nick sat in a chair on the right of the bed, Kori sat on the left. Hallie looked annoyed, and kept glaring at her cast.

"Hey Hallie, you okay?" Sara asked apologetically. Nick looked up from his magazine and Kori marked the page she was on in My Racing Heart. Hallie looked up.

"Yeah. It was a learning experience," she remarked sarcastically. Sara raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"How so?" Hallie rolled her eyes.

"Rule number one: Never leap in front of a charging horse." Nick laughed and Kori smiled. Nick gazed at the red head for a moment before heading downstairs to get a coke. Sara sat down in Nick's chair.

"Did you hurt anything else besides your arm?" Sara asked. Kori nodded and answered for her friend.

"A cracked rib or something. My medical knowledge is limited. To humans anyway," Kori shrugged. Hallie sipped her apple juice.

"The cracked rib isn't going to kill me. This stupid food is. No one eats this stuff," she complained. Kori smiled.

"And yet through her pain, she still manages to make life miserable for all of us," she said in a dramatically sad voice. Hallie griped.

"That's it, I'm hitting the call button. That nurse better come and give me some sleeping pills!" Nick returned quickly.

"I don't know why you're complaining," Nick said laughingly. "You get out tomorrow. Last time a horse hurt me I was in the hospital for a week!"

Richie began training Zodiac within a week. At first they had to do a lot of brushing and handling to get the horse used to them. He was still vicious to new comers, and they still had to find a rider. Hallie knew the perfect person.

Lauren was short and thin like most jockeys, muscular from holding back excited horses and from the strain of race riding. She had short, straight, dark brown hair that she usually wore in a ponytail while riding.

She slipped into the stall with Zodiac with only an apple as a peace offering. The huge black horse swung around and Sara thought "This is it." There was no way Lauren wouldn't get hurt or that he'd accept her.

Lauren held out the apple and Zodiac sniffed. He grabbed it and turned away, munching the apple. He mulled over her scent, and stared at her uncertainly. Lauren stood quietly, leaning against the wall, waiting for him to come around. Zodiac snorted and touched her with his nose. He learned a lot of things from watching her.

Still leery, he raised a warning hoof and struck the wall. Lauren didn't flinch. Zodiac tossed his head and glared at her like she was an insolent mare. Lauren just stood there. Slowly, Zodiac turned around, ears pinned. Lauren made a soft noise and his ears flicked forward.

Zodiac bumped her shoulder with his nose. Lauren scratched his fore head and spoke softly.

"We're gonna get along just fine big guy," she whispered. Sara, Kori, Richie, Jacob, and Hallie didn't doubt her.


	9. Run Forever

Run Forever

Disclaimer: Don't rub it in.

The day dawned cold and gray, like most mornings, but not the same at all in the minds of six people. Fog rolled off the track like wolves, slinking away from the sun's weak rays. The grass glistened with tiny, sparkling droplets of dew that clung to its blades.

Sara's stomach fluttered nervously as she watched Zodiac prance to the end of his lead. His ears swiveled around to catch all the sounds of the track. Lauren sat astride him calmly, reins keeping a light contact to tell him she was there. Richie snapped the chain over his nose and Zodiac trotted along.

His comeback had been miraculous. His shaggy coat shed out with grain, corn oil, and brushing, and his attitude had taken a turn for the better. He was still leery and aggressive of newcomers, but he didn't attack everyone who entered the stall. The absence of Clarissa might've had something to do with it.

Kori and Hallie were quiet as they took up positions on the rail at the far turn. They knew how important this was. Zodiac would be doing a quarter of a mile sprint, just to see how fast he was. He had been raced once, and was disqualified due to his jockey smacking another horse on the nose. Sara wasn't surprised that the people who worked with Clarissa acted like her.

Zodiac stepped nervously onto the track, sending out a trumpeting call. His lonely voice bounced off into the distance. No one answered. He tossed his head and pawed the ground eagerly. His mane waved like black fire and his muscular coat shimmered in the pale sun. The dirt was soft beneath his feet and Lauren readied herself into a squatting position.

Time seemed to move slowly for Sara. She closed her eyes, and she could see Edel, waiting as her son was now to start running. Richie took up a place beside her and she could remember sitting on the rail as a seven year old, Richie and her father beside her as they were now with stop watches in hand. Every noise seemed to stop and the morning was eerily quiet. Kori or Hallie moved and leaned against the rail softly. Everyone held their breath. Richie yelled a sharp "Now!" Sara opened her eyes.

Lauren dug her heels into the dark horses flanks and he snorted, leaping forward. His eyes rolled and his stride lengthened. Lauren glided easily above him, hovering over his neck. Her vision consisted of his fluttering mane and the track between his ears. She flicked her whip and tapped his shoulder. Zodiac sped up.

Muscles that hadn't been used for a while bunched and coiled like powerful springs. Zodiac held his head low, racing the wind and the birds and the sky, racing everything that dared to compete, racing, racing, doing what he was bred to. His front legs tore at the dirt and flung it behind him, his back legs hit the dirt and sprang him forward. His ears flicked back to hear the soothing voice of Lauren.

"There you go big guy. That's what you wanted wasn't it? Come on, a little faster now, show 'em you're better than most." Zodiac seemed to listen.

His heart pounded in his big chest and his nostrils flared. His tail billowed and his hooves pounded the dirt, closing the distance between him and the quarter mile pole. He would never stop. He didn't want to stop. He didn't need to stop. He wasn't bred to stop. Being kept in the stall was against everything a horse stood for. He was horse. He wasn't meant to stand in a cage. He was meant to run and race, to buck and challenge others of his kind. He was meant to do what he was doing now.

Zodiac thundered past the quarter mile pole. He would never stop. Lauren sat up and pulled back slightly, but even she knew it was useless. He wouldn't stop. Every fiber of the black horse's being told him, his beating heart told him, his breeding told him, his soul told him the same thing;

Run.

Run.

Run.

Run.


	10. With Sights Set on Del Mar

With Sights Set on Del Mar…

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the material I write about.

When Lauren finally pulled Zodiac up he had gone almost a mile at a flat out run. No one doubted he could have breezed two more. His sides raised and lowered heavily, but his eyes had a shine none of them had seen before. He plodded slowly after Kori, who took the reins from Lauren. Lauren leapt off and followed, talking with Richie. Sara felt like she was walking on air, which felt good considering she was ready to crash. Night shift had been chaos, which she knew was better than it being dead. Two homicides had left the lab scrambling for evidence, answers, suspects, sleep, and coffee. She would have been exhausted except for the edge of nervousness about Zodiac's first run. Grissom always said she should get a hobby. Why not one she hadn't done in fifteen years?

Hallie jogged ahead to the office and tack room. Kori led Zodiac past his mother's stall into his own. Sara remembered the first time mother and son had seen each other. They had greeted one another like old friends, far past the mother and son relationship they had shared when he was a young colt, running beside his sister. Calli was in the stall next to her mother. Their meeting had been the same, but Calli's meeting with her brother had been like two colts, and they had frolicked in their fields, racing each other along the fence that separated them. The family was together again.

Zodiac was rubbed down by Jacob and Richie, Sara filled his water, laid out hay, gave him some grain and fresh bedding, and made sure he was comfortable. After the horse was tended to they headed towards the office for breakfast.

Hallie had bought some Dunkin Donuts coffee and donut holes. Sara grabbed a small chocolate and coconut covered pastry and a coffee. Everyone else did the same, enjoying the quiet. Hallie rubbed her cast. She had complained about her arm itching underneath it. Finally Sara spoke.

"So… how did he do?" She asked. Lauren walked in, finished putting away her tack.

"Ooh donuts!" she said, grabbing two and a coffee. She sat down on the overstuffed, fraying, grayed couch in the corner. The office was wide and spacious. It doubled as a tack room. There was a desk on one wood paneled wall. To the left of it was the couch, to the right, many saddle racks. Behind the desk the wall was lined with a few bridles, posters, ribbons, pictures and a calendar. Above the couch was a shelf with many books, some of which Sara noticed had spilled onto the couch and the green carpeted floor. She recognized a few titles, mostly about foaling, feeding, breeding and a few random name books. The silence seemed to last forever as Richie chewed slowly. He had always been quiet and reserved, and not one to jump in front of the cameras, which probably made him more appealing to try and interview by the media.

"Well," he began, tugging his Red Sox hat down, "first off I think we should shoot for the Marlboro Stakes at Del Mar. But any way, he did the quarter in about twenty three seconds." Jacob Sidle let out a whoosh of air. Sara smiled and Lauren, grinning, dunked her donut in her coffee. Kori and Hallie stared unbelieving. Hallie ran her uninjured hand through her brown hair.

"Twenty three seconds! That's unbelievable! That's only a second more than the pace Spanish Chestnut set in the 2005 Kentucky Derby! A _second_ more!" Richie nodded solemnly without a hint of a grin. He settled the baseball cap to the back of his head, never satisfied.

"Yep," was all he said. Sara felt elated. On to Del Mar!


	11. Support From Everyone

Support From All Sides

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. But I do borrow the game occasionally. To Lauren, for being a good sport about going for a wild ride!

Sara had taken a nap that almost reached the four hour mark. She was used to sleeping during the day and being ready to jump up at any moment of the night. She closed all her curtains, shut the ringer off the phone, threw on a pair of plaid lounge pants and a t shirt and crashed onto her mattress. Sleep. Something she hadn't gotten in what seemed forever.

When she woke up it was around four thirty. She still had three hours to go before work, so she did a load of laundry, cleaned up her apartment, and made some Easy Mac. It was about as skillful as she got when making supper. She felt much better after her nap, and excitement about Zodiac's timing made her feel a lot more refreshed.

Work was dull, like it was occasionally. A homicide came in, but was quickly handed off to Catherine and Warrick. Sara sat in the break room with Nick, filling out what seemed to be endless paperwork. Grissom entered quietly, pulling a jar of unidentifiable substance out of the fridge. Nick grimaced and Sara shook her head.

"Oh yeah I forgot to ask," Nick started, "how did Zodiac do this morning?" Grissom looked up quizzically.

"Oh yes, Sara's horse. How did he do?" Grissom repeated. Sara smiled a wry grin.

"Oh, only a quarter in twenty three seconds," she replied. Nick stared.

"You're kidding? Was that good looking Lauren one riding him?" he asked. Sara gave him a playful shove.

"Only in it for the ladies aren't you Nicky?"

"Well, those three little ladies, Kori, Hallie, and Lauren, are all _fine_." Grissom leafed through a folder.

"Sara? I just want you to know that all of us are glad you found something you really enjoy," Grissom said quietly. "And that you can expect to see us there on race day." Sara smiled. She could imagine all of them watching as her horse crossed the wire in front. Her horse. It sounded so old and forgotten and beautiful. _Her horse._

"Thanks guys," Sara choked out, not wanting to cry. Greg stood in the doorway, and so did Warrick and Catherine, fresh from the field. The spiky blond winked at Sara and grinned.

"I'm thinking of getting us all shirts that say 'Zodiac' on them and was wondering what you guys opinion would be on choice of color…" everyone looked quizzically at the lab rat. "I was thinking either lime green or mango."

Everyone groaned or laughed simultaneously, but Sara's thoughts were occupied. She knew just what colors she wanted… a blue x on a white background, with striped sleeves… so many times she had seen those colors flash over the wire, so many times had she seen her mom holding the silks and sewing them with care, seen the crisp blue and white flapping in the breeze created by a horse's movement. She knew what colors she wanted. The colors of her old silks. Of her dad's old silks.


	12. A Gift From the Past

A Gift From The Past

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the made up characters, the horse names and the names of the farms. Stuff like that.

Sara's nervousness grew with each passing day that brought them closer to the race. Zodiac was excelling, his timings faster and his running smoother. He held his head down and stretched his legs instead of short stepping and holding his head straight up. And when Lauren tapped his hip with the whip, he put back his ears and gave more.

All the work was done in the morning, so it was a scramble to train five horses between five and seven. Everything had to be done in the cool of the morning because the horses would overheat in Vegas's blistering afternoons. Besides Zodiac and Calli, Kori and Hallie were also training three other horses, one a chestnut colt named Free Wing, a sorrel colt named Jupiter and a gray filly named Silver Gull. Of all of them, the most promising were Edelweiss's twins. Edel herself spent hot lazy days in the soft, sweet smelling, tall grass of her pasture, swishing flies and sleeping on the warm earth.

The days flew by, Sara's nights became a jumble of murders and grief, and her days full of excitement and horse racing. Grissom stopped by once to watch the horses run, and realized why she was so obsessed with this. He saw Silver Wing race across the track, her graceful elegance floating through the mist, going so fast yet like in slow motion, gray legs reaching out to touch turf and yet seeming not to touch it… Mane and tail like silver flames licking at the hands of the jockey, a little Mexican man named Carlos 'Speedy' Gonzalez.

Finally, two nights before the race, Sara sat in her dad's house in Henderson, listening to him talk about great horses that he knew. She felt like a little girl again, sitting at her father's feet and listening to his descriptions of Twenty Grand and Discovery. She knew he was hardly old enough to have known either horse, but she could still picture from his imagery the gleaming horses, racing across the wire.

"One horse I did know, Sara, was Satin Shine. That was one of the prettiest little horses I ever saw and if I had the money I would've bred Edelweiss to him. Fast little thing to," he said, eyes reflecting a far off place. Sara's stomach fluttered. What if the same thing that happened to Trixie happened to Zodiac? She thought. She pushed the thought away.

"Dad, whose colors are we going to use for Zodiac?" she asked, wrapping her arms around her legs. Her father stood silently and walked into his bedroom. When he returned he was holding a dusty old box that said San Francisco Embroidery on it. He handed it to her wordlessly and she opened it. She pulled back the brittle and yellowed tissue paper and caught sight of shimmering blue silk. She pulled it out.

It was like a long sleeved shirt made of silky softness. It was a deep royal blue, with white sleeves. Straight lines of matching blue ran down the white sleeves and the collar was a crisp white. The body of the jockey silks was the same blue, with a large white X. It was her father's old silks. They were perfectly cleaned, the white breeches and helmet cover to, spotless. She folded everything back and covered it with the tissue paper. She set the box behind her and with tears flooding her dark brown eyes, she hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go.


	13. The Radio and The Racetrack

The Radio and The Racetrack

Disclaimer: I still don't own it, but it is my life goal to portray Madison, the girl from CSI: Miami because I look like her, just older. ACDC's not mine either.

Everyone woke up around five thirty on Wednesday. Zodiac had been training for about two and a half months, and had excelled under the gentle work of Lauren, Richie, and Jacob. Wednesday was two days before the big race. It would give them time to drive to Del Mar, which was in California, get Zodiac settled in and maybe run him around the track once. Then of course there was the drawing of the positions.

Sara sat in the tack room with Lauren and Nick. The rest of the CSI team would be driving down on Thursday. The race was Friday. It had been tough getting Warrick, Catherine, Nick, Grissom, and Greg to all leave for two days. Day shift would have to cover their places, and other CSIs on swing shift would also be working double time. But the fact that they all rarely took a personal day made the decision slightly easier.

Lauren had the box with the silks in it on her lap. She gazed at them wonderingly, feeling their softness. She put them back in the box and folded the paper over them.

"They're beautiful," she said, setting the box onto the desk. Nick took a sip of his coffee and smiled. They walked out to the drive way of Run Along Farm, where Jacob was finished putting on Zodiac's shipping boots, blanket, tail wrap, and poll protector. Thoroughbreds were expensive, and when taking them far from home you didn't take any chances. He coaxed Zodiac into the trailer and clipped him in. They loaded Jupiter in next to him, the sorrel colt would be running in a small stake race, and he would keep Zodiac company.

Carlos would be riding Jupiter, and riding in the van that would follow, along with Aaron, Richie, and Jacob. Nick, Sara, Kori, Hallie, and Lauren would all be riding in the large pickup they used to haul the trailer. Sara sat in the back, she and Lauren on either side of Nick. Kori drove, while Hallie sat in the passenger seat, in total control of the radio and snack bag. About twenty minutes down the road she pulled out a magazine and started doing the crossword puzzle. Sara flipped through the racing form that showed the competitors in Zodiac's race.

"Hey Hallie? What do you know about Rain Tree?" Sara asked, scanning the names.

"He has a weird name," Hallie replied. "And that's about it."

"How about Gypsy Gold?" Nick asked. Lauren spoke up.

"Filly, three years old, blood bay, sprinter, can't handle mud, doesn't like being stuck in the middle of the pack."

"You know all that?" Nick raised an eyebrow. Lauren shrugged.

"I rode her once."

They had been driving for two hours when Hallie switched on the radio. The tinny screaming of Brian Johnson filled the pickup. Sara winced, Lauren rolled her eyes, Nick made a face, Hallie stared at Kori, and Kori sang along.

"_The furs, the diamonds,_

_The painting on the wall!_

_Come on come on, listen to the money,_

_Come on come on, listen to the money talk!"_

Hallie turned the volume down with a quick twist and Kori laughed.

"Come on, what's wrong with ACDC?" she asked. Lauren groaned and Hallie changed the station.

"Maybe the fact that it sounds like Donald Duck singing?" Sara offered. Lauren shook her head.

"Or the fact that ACDC is for teenage boys?" Hallie switched it to another station in time to catch the last chorus of Weezer's "Beverly Hills". Nick still looked like he was in pain.

"Can't we listen to country music?" he asked hopefully. Everyone yelled a deafening "NO!"

"Do you have a classical music station?" Sara asked.

"Oh man, don't tell me Grissom's been rubbing off on you," Nick groaned. The dial stayed firmly on K98.4 as Lauren started singing along with the Pussycat Dolls.

It was dark by the time they reached the race track. A large grandstand greeted them, white rails and a green infield with beautifully kept flowers. The stables were all crisply painted and numbered. They headed to barn 7c, far enough from the race track that there was little activity. Zodiac collapsed into the thick straw of his stall, and Sara strung up the webbing across the door frame. Jupiter was in the stall next to him, equally exhausted.

The drawing of the positions went well. Zodiac was in slot five of nine horses. He would be in a good position to run to the front, which is what he liked. He wouldn't have to cut across a pack ten horses wide to get close to the rail, and he wouldn't be forced to break dangerously fast to prevent being swallowed up by the group of pounding, galloping wall of muscle.

Jupiter was not so lucky. He had position two, which meant he would have to catapult out of the gates to get to a front position. Everyone was tired by the time they got back from the drawing. Lauren, Sara, and Richie went back to the barns to check on the two horses.

Richie pulled out a cot, and Jacob did the same. They were going to sleep in the barn. Kori, Hallie, and Lauren would share a hotel room, while Nick and Sara shared a two bed room next door. Sara slipped into the dark stall with Zodiac. The horse nuzzled her hair and she petted him absent mindedly. She was no longer in the stall with him, she was hundreds of miles north, back in the barn of her childhood, standing next to Edel as a little girl.


	14. Sara's Dream

Sara's Dream

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. The last part is kind of disturbing, but I had to do it. I know some of my horse names are weird, but I had to give them all registered names, and usually the names are kind of weird because there can't be two horses with the same name. Anyway… to Hallie, Lauren, and Catlover.

"Did you see who was sitting across the room?" Lauren asked as she pulled a piece of steaming pizza from the box. It was around eight o'clock, and their pizza they'd ordered over forty minutes ago had finally arrived. Nick poured soda for everyone, and Sara settled into one of the pastel colored chairs in their hotel room. The other CSIs had arrived that afternoon, and everyone was celebrating. Zodiac and Jupiter had both cantered around the track once to keep them on edge but not too tired.

Greg, whether fortunately or unfortunately, had gotten a shirt that said Zodiac on the front. The color was a royal blue, and the letters a sizzling yellow. Grissom, Warrick, Catherine and Nick had all declined his offer of getting matching ones. Everyone had been introduced, and they were talking about other competitors.

Lauren sat cross legged on the bed next to Hallie and Warrick. Greg sat on the other bed with Catherine and Kori. Grissom sat on the cot that Hallie used. Jacob and Richie were still at the track, sleeping in the barn.

"No, who?" Sara asked. "I wasn't looking. I was closing my eyes and crossing my fingers," she said laughingly. Kori snorted.

"I was wondering when they were going to roll out the food. I was hungry!" she remarked. Lauren set down her pizza and grinned.

"Oh, just Clarissa Bennet," she said. Hallie made a low growling noise, Nick groaned and Sara smiled grimly. Warrick spoke up, green eyes flashing.

"After what she did to your horse, man you better beat her tomorrow," he said. Catherine tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear, nodding in agreement.

Grissom scanned the racing form.

"Her horse is called Symphonic Tonic? Strange," he remarked.

No one really knew why he offered to come, but Sara guessed it had something to do with the bugs that were notorious for hanging around barns. Then again, he could always check out a ranch in Nevada… The thing that mattered was the fact that all her friends were with her. And when everyone left for their hotel rooms, she returned with Nick to their own feeling completely happy.

Lying in bed Sara turned as her dreams took a dark twist. Trixie was gliding across the track in the lead, so far ahead that the others had no hope of catching up. Everything was crystal clear, the billowing of the jockey's silks, the puffs of dirt that flew up from Trixie's hooves, everything so real and frightening. People in the crowd were screaming and cheering for Trixie and she was watching helpless as suddenly she put her foot down to touch earth, putting her foot down so every pound of her huge body could balance on it, and the earth slid out from underneath her. The dirt flew and Trixie did a strange somersault that was almost fake looking, but she knew her horse was falling, and the jockey rolled off her, towards the rail. But it wasn't Trixie anymore. It was Zodiac, and Lauren was the jockey. Fear clouded her great black horse's eyes as he slammed into the ground and there was a blood curling scream from her horse as he fell and the rest of the horses galloped over him, and she woke up to find she was the one screaming.


	15. The Starting Gate

The Starting Gate

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.

"Sara! Sara what's wrong?" Nick asked frantically, as Sara ran her hands through her hair.

"Nothing. Nothing, I'm fine," she lied. Yeah right. Fine. She was about as far from fine as you could get. She looked at her clock and groaned. Five thirty. Time to get up. Sara rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. Nick headed down to the lobby to get something from the free breakfast table. When he returned, Sara was dressed and drying her hair.

"You're fast," Nick remarked, handing her a coffee. She sipped it and started to pack her dirty clothes away. They would be staying that night and leaving the next morning.

"Yeah well I'm so nervous I'm about to go out and buy some tranquilizers. Do you know where the drug store is?" Nick laughed.

"Nope. You might ask Clarissa though. She seems to keep those on hand for unruly horses."

"Yeah. I'm sure she'd be willing to give me something more than tranquilizers. Lauren said if looks could kill we would've all dropped dead at the drawing of the positions."

The Marlboro Stakes was not a small race. Ten of the best horses on the west coast had shown up to prove their worth. Though in all the Zodiac team's books their horse was definitely good competition, he had only been raced once and hadn't done well. All the other horses had previous wins, and the bettors knew it; Symphonic Tonic went off as the 5-2 favorite.

Hallie flashed their ID cards at the guard and he waved them through. Heading to their barn, two men who were walking a leggy chestnut colt called out rudely,

"Go back home ladies, girls don't belong in horse racing!" Lauren glared in the men's direction.

"Excuse me? Is it girls or idiots that don't belong here?" she shot back. The two men laughed and continued walking their charge out. Warrick shook his head in amazement.

"Do you usually get in fights in the jockey room, or do the guys leave you alone?" he asked Lauren jokingly. Lauren smiled.

"I'm surprised the last guy I took care of didn't end up where in your morgue," she said sweetly. Grissom smiled slightly, and Catherine gave Lauren a surprised look.

"I didn't think you were like that Lauren," she said, laughing. Kori and Hallie both rolled their eyes.

"You have no idea," Kori said.

Jupiter's race went well, even though he didn't win. He had broken from the gate quickly, but had gotten caught up in the pack. He had finished fourth, two lengths ahead of the mass of horses that made up places fifth through sixteenth.

Sara could feel her stomach revolting against all food and drink. She sat in the quiet calm of the barn, arms crossed over her stomach. Zodiac was being saddled in his stall, and he let out a whoosh of air onto Sara's hair. She laughed nervously. All of the CSIs had gone to sit up in the stands. Hallie finished bridling the huge black horse, and Kori ran a soft bristled brush over his already gleaming hide. They walked him out of the stall, into the sunshine.

Lauren sat in the jockey room on one of the comfortable recliners, watching the race. Speedy entered, covered in grayish brown mud that hid the vibrant pink and purple colors of Run Along Farm. Lauren wore the spotless white breeches of Sara's, and she felt bad that they would be so dirty by the end of her race. She pulled the soft blue and white silk over her t shirt. It was her lucky racing shirt, one that she wore under her silks while riding. It was a faded teal, with a black and white photo of a girl barrel racing, her horse lying almost flat on the ground as it spun around the barrels. A small box like that on a pack of cigarettes was in the bottom center, proclaiming "The Surgeon General didn't say anything about smoking the competition."

She tapped her boot on her crop, then, getting a leg up from Richie, settled into the saddle. Zodiac looked amazing. His muscles rippled with every movement under his satiny black coat, which gleamed in the sunlight. Richie walked him around the dirt path, behind all the other thoroughbreds. The path was fenced in to keep out spectators, and the path circled around a large patch of flowers, which, in turn, surrounded a mighty oak tree. The leaves flickered and sun filtered through, and it was time for the parade to post.

A slow and plodding paint pony rode up beside Zodiac. Zodiac squealed and snapped, and the pony stared at him in a glare that obviously said something like "listen kid I do this every day, settle down cuz it can be easy or hard, and I'm not in the mood". Zodiac flattened his ears, glaring sulkily, and prancing alongside. The announcer was saying something and Lauren collected her reins. The crowd cheered for the horses, clapping and whistling. Zodiac turned to see them, and his ears swiveled forward, up there in the stands sat Sara, Jacob, Richie, Hallie, Kori, and the CSIs. Greg jumped up when Zodiac went past, cheering, his brightly colored shirt standing out. His soda spilled slightly onto Nick. Warrick reached over to pull Greg back into his seat and Grissom flipped through a racing forum. Sara bit her nails.

The starting gate clanked into position and the other horses were loaded. Zodiac stared at the contraption excitedly, knowing it was what let him loose to run. He pawed at the dirt and the man went to lead him in. Zodiac danced away, all nerves now. Lauren urged him forward and he spun away, the leather rope snaking through the gate man's hands. The chain snaked upward and everyone was silent as Zodiac lifted up his front legs to paw at the blue skies above, and Lauren leaned forward as he put his weight on his back legs. Sara closed her eyes and she was there at Edelweiss's first training session, when her beautiful horse wouldn't go in the gates. Mother and son switched places in her mind, first Edel, then Zodiac, rearing to tear down the clouds and sun.

Zodiac lunged in and they snapped the gate shut behind him. He looked at the track ahead, all muscles coiled for the launch. The jockey next to Lauren looked at her and she recognized Clarissa's silks.

"Hey girlie, you got a pretty wild one there huh?" the guy asked. Lauren smiled and snapped her goggles in place.

"Better a wild one than a slow one like yours," she said, focusing again on the race. There was a silence, where everyone held their breath. Even the flies stopped droning, and the wind stopped blowing, and a heavy heat settled on everyone. Sara gasped for breath and Grissom looked at her concerned but she didn't see him there, all she saw was her horse and that was all that mattered.

Zodiac's heart pounded in his chest. Adrenaline rushed through his veins and he stood at total attention, like a taut spring ready to explode. Sara closed her eyes as salty sweat dripped into them.

The gates tore open. Sara opened her eyes.


	16. The View Best Loved

The View Best Loved

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI, but that doesn't matter anymore, because I've had so much fun writing this story. Hopefully this story is one of many… To Lauren and Hallie as always, better friends (or weirder ones) no one could have. And to Cat, thanks for making me go on with my story, when it seemed no one was reading it.

The gates snapped open and Lauren tapped Zodiac's shoulder with her crop, leaning forward to bury her face in his dark mane. The other horses faded so far behind in the dust it was like they never existed. Everything else seemed to stop as Zodiac and Symphonic Tonic broke ahead of the rest. Symphonic Tonic's light chestnut hips swayed as his hind legs propelled him forward, just in front of the swift black.

Zodiac stretched his neck low and careened up beside the opponent, eyes a glow with a hate for the competition. His ears pinned to his skull, mouth open to taste the breeze, the black demon horse went after the large chestnut. They swept around the first turn together, Zodiac on the outside and keeping stride. Lauren looked down to see the dirt flying beneath them. Symphonic Tonic was in the lead by a neck, with Zodiac's head keeping along easily with his hip. Coming around the second turn, Lauren still held Zodiac in check, and Symphonic Tonic was starting to break a sweat. Zodiac seemed to ask, surging forward. Now? Lauren pulled back. No. Now? No.

Sara screamed her horse's name, and everyone around her were chanting for her horse too. She stood up, and so did her friends, all yelling for the horse that had suffered and was going on to do something great.

Coming around the far turn it was still anyone's game. Anyone being Zodiac or Symphonic Tonic. The horse was ahead of him. With an angry grunt the huge black horse shook his head, asking, this time angrily, "Now?" Lauren loosened the reins and flicked her whip. Yes. Now.

Zodiac tried to pull ahead, his heart beating with the only word he knew while racing. Run. Almost everything, pain, fear, were gone. The only other thing that could consume him besides his will to run was hate. The horse was ahead of him. Zodiac grunted again and raced forward, hate for his opponent raging through him.

Symphonic Tonic's jockey looked behind him. They could win, it was within sight, the wire! But what if Zodiac got there first? Clarissa didn't pay for him to come in second. He pulled Symphonic Tonic to the right.

Zodiac's forelegs reached out to grab ground, his whole weight falling on his seemingly delicate thin legs, balancing two thousand pounds a second on each hoof. Symphonic Tonic swerved in front of him. In the stands Clarissa leapt out of her seat in joy.

"We're going to win this one!" she yelled enthusiastically to an elderly (and probably rich) gentleman beside her. All the CSIs gasped as Zodiac's front legs clipped Symphonic Tonic's hocks. For a split second Zodiac was on his knees, and Lauren appeared to be leaning over his shoulder to see something.

Flashes of other races she had ridden all flooded over Lauren. The field across the road from her house. The warm sun on her face as she had run through the high grasses. Her room with its soft white curtains that used to remind her of ghosts when she was little.

Sara buried her face in Grissom's shoulder, crying. Images of Zodiac and Lauren flickered across her mind like a movie, the final shot being of them both lying crumpled in the dirt. Grissom put his arm around her quickly, then thought about what he'd done. Oh well. Nick grabbed Sara's shoulder.

"Look Sara! Zodiac got up! He got up! LOOK!" Sara lifted her head to see Zodiac jump back to his feet instantaneously, catching his stride in seconds. With hate gleaming in his eyes he swept forward, barreling up next to Symphonic Tonic and glaring him in the eye. The horses were eye to eye for a moment, Zodiac's full of hate and anger, the eye of a storm. Symphonic Tonic's gaze faltered, and he looked away. He started to fall back, drifting behind them like he had stopped dead. He hadn't stopped running. He had stopped fighting.

Zodiac glided across the wire with graceful ease. Lauren stood up in the stirrups and raised her crop to the stands. Right at Clarissa. She stared right at the cold looking blond, who stared disbelievingly back. Lauren shifted her gaze to Sara, who was hugging an uncomfortable looking Grissom. To Hallie, who was hugging an extremely happy looking Nick. To Kori, who kissed a surprised looking Greg. To Warrick, who looked right back, nodding to her. Catherine stood with arms crossed, smiling at them all. Jacob and Ritchie sat back, looking pleased. And Lauren? She settled back down into the saddle, looking at the view she loved most. The view between a horse's ears.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I kind of tried to get everyone's point of view this time, and I hope you enjoyed it!


	17. Remembrance

Epilogue

Author's Note: Ah. It's been a long while since I started this story. I actually kept the first chapter on my computer for about six months, not wanting to post it. But now… I'm glad I did.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. For Lauren, who definitely said chicken **_strips._** And to Hallie, who **_loves _** Lauren's 4 wheeling abilities. And last but not least, to Cat, who has always been there.

The sun soaked the hills in summer and the birds sang, and Sara stood on the grassy clearing, holding the hand of a little red headed girl. It was right inside the tree line that surrounded the farm, with a little mowed path. The grass was light green, only a year and a half old, covering the dirt. A stream of sun filtered through the trees and gave the place a dreamy look. The stone in the center of the clearing was relatively new, but rain had made it slightly faded. It was granite, flecked with pinks, whites, grays and blacks. Sara traced the letters with her long fingers, and the little girl followed with her own short little fingers.

"What does it say Aunt Sara?" asked the little girl in a soft whisper, afraid to break the almost magical silence. Sara smiled faintly, and stood up. Thoughts of the past few years filled her. Becoming an adopted aunt because Kori was an only child, and her parents lived in Georgia. Zodiac's brilliant career. Grissom seeming to enjoy being around her. Lauren dating Warrick, Hallie being friends with Nick, and Greg constantly asking Kori out to dinner. And this…

"It says Edelweiss," said the tall brunette with a sad smile. The little girl nodded, her curly red hair bouncing. She brushed dirt off of her pink shorts and stood up. Edelweiss had died peacefully, in her sleep, not more than a year and a half ago. Sara had bought the stone herself, and had it engraved with Edelweiss's name, and a short quote she thought fitting.

"_Some horses come into our lives and quickly go,_

_Others stay a while and leave hoof prints on our hearts,_

_And we are never, never the same. "_

"Come on Jordyn, we have to get back to the barn. Calli's probably already had her foal," Sara said, turning to walk away. Jordyn hurried after her, giggling. Today the horse crazy little girl wore a shirt with colorful ponies galloping across it and a pair of light pink shorts.

The barn was cool and quiet, with just the rustle of straw. Jordyn reached up to pat Zodiac on her way by, the huge black horse's face starting to be slightly speckled with barely visible gray hairs. The grumpy horse had settled down slightly in his old age and he pinned his ears half heartedly. He had retired in his fourth year, winning fifteen of sixteen races. The one loss was from when he was with Clarissa. His final race was unexpected. He was in a handicap race, carrying one hundred thirty pounds. He had hurt his leg, but still rallied on to win by two lengths.

Jordyn hurried to the final stall where her mother stood, peering in. Jacob and Ritchie stood next to her, smiling slightly. Ritchie tugged down the Red Sox hat over his gray hair. Kori turned to pick up her daughter, smiling.

"Hey where've you been?" she asked. Sara looked into the stall. Next to Calli lay a newborn foal, a little filly. She was a steely gray. Kori sat Jordyn into the stall and the little girl sat down in the thick straw. Horse studied girl and girl studied horse. Jordyn reached out slowly, at the same time the little filly stretched out her neck.

Sara smiled. It was like her when she was little, reaching out to touch for the first time. Jordyn's hand rested on the filly's nose and the baby snorted contentedly. Jordyn crawled forward and sat, back propped against the little filly's fluffy gray sides. Everyone smiled, and Hallie joined them.

Hallie turned to Sara. She smiled and looked at Kori, who smiled back.

"Um, Sara? We were thinking… we want you to have the foal so you and your dad and Ritchie could start your own farm," she said quietly. Sara looked at the foal, sitting in the straw beside its mother, the sun casting gentle rays on her. Jordyn was talking to the horse like it was an old friend and the filly seemed to be listening.

"Thank you," she said, so full of joy and gratitude she could barely speak. Kori looked at her expectantly.

"So what are you going to name her?" Sara paused, watching as the foal tried to stand and Jordyn backed away for a moment.

"Remembrance," Sara replied. Images of the filly's grandmother filled her with a surge of warmth and love. The filly was standing now, pulling her head back from nursing to look at Jordyn, who giggled at the white milk running down the filly's whiskers. "I think it fits."

Kori hummed a soft tune and Hallie joined in, recognizing one of the bars of 'A Long December'. Ritchie and Jacob left the foal and Jordyn alone to go outside. Sara returned to the grave stone of Edel and stood with her eyes closed, listening to the sounds she remembered from her childhood, the warm soft nickerings of mother and newborn daughter, the rustle of straw, the low stamping of hooves and droning of bees outside on the beautiful summer day. And finally, the soft thrum of galloping hooves. Something rushed past her and her skin prickled. There was a very quiet nicker that Sara knew only she heard. She looked around, knowing secretly, but still surprised at seeing no horses. She spoke softly to the warm summer day and the cloudless sky.

"Hey Edel. I really missed you."


End file.
